Frictional characteristics of steel plates during abrasive particle flow: A comparison of in situ measurements made on a linear abrasive wear tester with those on a Jenike shear tester

Abstract

Friction measurements were made on two testers: the Jenike shear tester and a linear abrasive wear tester (LAWT). Wall friction values were obtained for a range of steels and surface finishes, typical of the plates used for the manufacture of hoppers and silos in bulk solids handling applications. The abrasive used was crushed soda-lime glass. It was found that friction values on the Jenike were similar to the initial 'start up' values obtained on the LAWT. The latter correlated particularly well with the surface roughness of the sample plates. On the LAWT, friction was found to increase with sliding distance until a steady-state level was attained. It is considered that this increase is due to the gradual accumulation of wear debris, particularly fragmented abrasive particles, on the surface of the wear specimen.